As we go through life, we are literally bombarded (both inside and out) by tiny packets of unstable energy (molecules) called free radicals. These free radicals come from many places. The environment around us supplies a steady dose of free radicals from such things as ultraviolet (UV) light, radiation, cigarette smoke and pollution. However, many free radicals also come from within us, due to inflammation and even day-to-day metabolism. (more…)

See if this sounds familiar – you wake up feeling stuffy, like your head is full of warm soup and your ears feel like you’ve been flying at 30,000 feet – but your lying in bed. You get up and it doesn’t get much better; in fact, it gets a little worse – maybe your head begins to pound a little (or a lot!), your nose starts to run, you feel like you can’t take in a deep breath (even through your mouth), and your throat hurts. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. (more…)

I often get asked questions like, “I’m allergic to sulfa drugs – do I need to avoid sulfur in supplements and/or food?” There is a lot of understandable confusion about the difference between sulfa drugs, sulfites, sulfates and sulfur. Many people are allergic to sulfa drugs and/or sulfites and thus assume that they have to avoid sulfates and sulfur, also. This article should help explain the difference between these four substances and clear some of the confusion. (more…)

Vitamin A doesn’t get a lot of press these days, at least not as much as the other fat soluble vitamins, such as Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. However, Vitamin A is vital for many bodily functions, and research is showing that it isn’t quite as easy to get adequate amounts through the diet as we once thought. (more…)

If you are paying attention to nutrition or health-related news, you know that not a week goes by without some new findings coming out about the health benefits of vitamin D. However, there is also a lot of confusion about how much vitamin D each person needs as well as the best/safest way to achieve optimal vitamin D levels. The purpose of this post is to try and clear some of the confusion. (more…)